Intelligent NBA commentary from the two biggest basketball fans on the planet.

June 28, 2006

NBA Draft - Needs and Reality, Part 2

By Craig Kwasniewski

Now that you have seen Part 1, here is Part 2 of the draft (picks 11 through 20), the middle of the pack. There's a lot of teams in transition here, and we close with what will be my favorite moment of the night, the New York Knicks first pick. Time to prepare... (clearing throat)

"FI-RE THOM-ASS!" (clap... clap... clap-clap-clap)

"FI-RE THOM-ASS!" (clap... clap... clap-clap-clap)

So let's continue with Orlando:

11. Orlando: This team is on the brink of the playoffs. Dwight Howard is a beast! I like the midseason acquisition of Trevor Ariza and Darko has a great chance of saving his career here. They should take Ronnie Brewer to add some backcourt depth.

12. NOOCH: The Hornets were a pleasant surprise last year. They were able to compete without a single low post player on their entire roster. All their bigs scored from mid-range jumpers. They need a post-up guy. They'll probably take the best swingman available in Rodney Carney.

13. Philadelphia: I thought they had a decent mix of youth and veterans and would make the playoffs… bro, was I wrong! I think they are leaning towards trading A.I. more than ever and taking Randy Foye will start the rumors.

14. Utah: Their wish list is Adam Morrison, Andrea Bargnani, J.J. Redick, Sergio Rodriguez, Steve Novack, James Augustine, James White (oops, he's no longer on the list), Louis Admundson…. Is there a theme here? Fortunately for their fan base, J.J. Redick will be drafted by Utah here. (A huge sigh of relief by the fanbase of all the other NBA teams!)

15. NOOCH: They still need a low post big here. Alexander Johnson looks to be the man.

16. Chicago: What a difference a few euro draft busts make…the Bulls take swingman Thabo Sefolosha from Switzerland for athleticism and unbounded neutrality.

18. Washington: The Wizar*s and coach E**ie Jor*an were so bad defensively that they lost the right to use the letter “D” for the 2006-07 season. This summer they need to extend Caron Butler’s contract and draft a big. Paul Millsap is left on the list of available power forwards. Do they teach defense at Louisiana Tech?

19. Sacramento: The last two season brought about a change in the identity of the Kings. Gone is the fun-loving, high-scoring, heavily entertaining playoff choking bunch. All that remains from the 2002 Western Conference Finalist team is Bibby. Time to start developing a point guard for the future? Definately, the Kings take Rajon Rondo.

20. New York: This is THE absolute must watch moment of the NBA Draft. A chance to see bitter Knick fan pop a vein booing the entire time the Knicks are on the clock. I’m secretly hoping that they waste this pick on some unknown Euro just to hear the comparisons with previous Knick waste Frederick Weis. Hopefully they’ll show Weis getting dunked over and on by Vince Carter during the 2000 Olympics. Unfortunately, the Knicks take Shawne Williams from Memphis for this pick.